


Fake date at the Aquarium - or the author is kind of lazy

by QueenPotatos



Category: Free!
Genre: Day 3, For the Future Festival, M/M, prompt : fake date + aquarium
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-07
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-13 12:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4521252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenPotatos/pseuds/QueenPotatos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just what the title says.<br/>Gou is tired of her friends asking for her brother's number. Her evil mind finds an evil plan to resolve all of her problem - and some of her brother's as well, if they're lucky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fake date at the Aquarium - or the author is kind of lazy

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of questions running through Haru's mind at this very moment.

He wonders why they are, for example, hanging out in an aquarium - which is actually kind of pleasant, but it doesn't explain why they have to be here.

Or why they absolutely have to go today.

And, above all, why do they have to hold hands?

Not that Haru minds; but Rin's cheeks are crimson red and his hands are sweating, which isn't something nice to feel when you're holding aforesaid hand.

"I told you, it's the only way." Rin mutters.

"No; Gou told you and you believed her."

"I agreed with her," Rin rectifies. Haru rolls his eyes. Sure thing, to escape from a girl desperately in love with you, there is nothing better than to go on a fake date with a guy to discourage her from trying.

"Gou's idea is brilliant," Rin goes on, "This way she will definitely stop harassing Gou for my phone number."

"So, you're doing it for you and your sister." Haru states blankly.

"Well, yes, why else?"

"Nothing," He lies. "But why does it have to be me?"

Rin looks away, "I thought you'd like this place better than the others." He murmurs.

"I came here last week with Makoto and Nagisa."

"Oh, would you please shut up!?" Rin hisses. Some visitors turn around, and Rin feels utterly embarrassed once more. "Can we please stick to the plan? The faster we finish, the better."

"…Okay."

On his phone there was an endless message from Gou, explaining the whole operation.

She and her friend would visit the aquarium today; it had been planned for weeks, and this is why the two of them had to be there that particular day. Gou had already organized the whole tour in every detail so that the two of them would always know where the two girls were. The purpose of all of this was for Gou's friend to notice Rin and Haru without being too obvious. Holding hands and smiling a lot were part of the plan; something Haru didn't agree with at first. But eventually, Gou made him change his mind with her persuasion – she can be very scary when she wants to.

 

Girls…

"Let's go over there," Rin says, pointing to the star fish room on the plan they had taken at the entrance.

"Nagisa would have liked it better," Haru says, "He loves this place and spy games more than I do."

Rin doesn't have the strength to reply; instead he makes a face Haru doesn't even deign to see. They spot Gou at the other end of the room. She turns around and shoves her thumb up in the air. The plan is going pretty nicely, according to her standings.

"Good," Rin says, "We won't have to pretend for long, then."

Haru's eyes fall to the ground, and he wordlessly grasps Rin's hand harder and pulls him closer to the glass. But, Rin knows better; he can always feel when there's something wrong going on with Haru.

 

 

They visit every room of the aquarium before 4 PM, which is the time the girls are supposed to take a break at the cafeteria.

"So we have, like, a couple of minutes for ourselves before joining them," Rin tells Haru after reading Gou's instructions, "What do you want to do?"

"Go back to the biggest room."

"Okay, but not for too long, it's at the other end of the damn place." Rin says as he put the plan back in his bag.

Haru takes Rin’s hand in his and entwines their fingers. Rin's feet are glued to the ground. "What? Don't you want to come with me?" Haru asks him, and then he frowns when he sees just how red Rin's face is.

"What's with you?"

"…Nothing," Rin replies.

He bends his head down to hide his stupid, teenage blush. He begins to walk quickly, dragging Haru along. Rin is so tense next to him that Haru can't find the peace he needs to properly enjoy the scenery. It's such a shame, he thinks, because it really is lovely and Haru is sure Rin would like it too, if only he would lift his head and set his eyes on the water instead of stubbornly watching his own shoes.

At precisely 4:08 PM they come back to the cafeteria – Rin was very persnickety about the exactitude of their timing. They sat as planned, at distance from Gou and her friend so that they could see each other.

Rin has calmed down a bit. At least he's looking at something else than the floor. "So, what should I order?"

"What you feel like, I suppose." Haru tells him.

"Hey, that wasn't a question, I was merely talking to myself."

Haru frowns, "Then why did you say it aloud?"

"Because you're…there, you know, it's called communication, or socialization, or whatever you feel like calling it."

"You could have asked for my advice," Haru pouts behind his menu.

"Fine!" Rin says, exasperated, as if the afternoon hadn’t been stressful and tiring enough. "Haruka, in your humble opinion, could you suggest what I should order, please?"

"Diabolo grenadine." Haru replies on the spot.

"Bah, I don't like sweet things."

"Then," Haru stands up and pushes on Rin's menu he's holding. His head draws close to his, and Rin stops breathing for a moment. "That seems nice for you. Schwepps." Haru goes on as he points to the drink on Rin's menu. "Bitter and sparkling."

"Do you say that because you find me bitter today?"

"No, nor sparkling."

He can see Rin repress a groan of frustration. It probably shouldn't, but it makes Haru happy for some reason.

"Okay, I've asked and I shall dispose of your thoughtful choice." Rin says in a sophisticated manner. "What about you then? Why not a lemonade? They are dolphins on the bottle."

"I won't take anything." Haru tells him.

Rin put his menu on the table, and scowls. "Why that?"

"I forgot my wallet."

Rin hasn't felt this exasperate all day.

"You're kidding me, right?" He asks, without actually believing it was a joke – Haru doesn't do jokes, not like these at least. "Tell me you're kidding, please…"

But Haruka just shakes his head, not looking apologetic at all – just slightly content, if anything.

"Just order what you want, it's on me." Rin finally says.

"What?"

"I said, order what you-"

"I'm not deaf you know," Haru cuts him off, "I just…you're sure you-"

"Well, aren't we supposed to be on a date, anyway?"

Haru eventually surrenders, and welcomes the lemonade in his hand with great pleasure considering the high temperature outside, which was probably nothing compared to the heat between the two of them as the tension builds. This is, and had always been, a bad idea. Haru feels like Rin is at the verge of getting angry at him because he chose the wrong person – Nagisa would have fulfilled the role of a “fake boyfriend” much better.

Haru had only accepted because he finally had an excuse to spend time with Rin, but who was he trying to fool? He was running away and hiding his true intentions. More than Rin, it's his own feeling for Rin that he tried to conceal from his heart. That's probably why, at the end of the day, it has ended up so badly. Rin made him realize that all of this was fake, and it was never meant to actually happen; and it hurts more than Haru thought it would.

"Can we go now?" Haru asks, considering the waiter had taken away their drinks just a few seconds ago. Gou and her friend left the place, and Rin received a message while they were enjoying the fresh drinks. He wants the game to end as soon as possible. Pretending is definitely not his thing, not with Rin; not when it feels so good that he wished he didn't have to.

When he lifts his eyes to meet Rin's, all he sees is Rin’s hands, hiding his own face. He hears him sigh deeply.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"Nothing…Everything," Rin replies, "I mean, I am so sorry to have put you through this Haru, really. Thank you for acting through the end."

"I had a great time." Haru says; kind of lies but not really - not entirely.

"Come on, I can read your face, plus, you've done nothing but complain all day. It was a stupid idea, but it was kind of effective considering the last message Gou sent me."

"Well, then it wasn’t that bad of an idea." Haru says calmly.

"At least it was a success, in a certain aspect," Rin concludes. He stands up and takes his bag from the floor, tossing it slowly over his shoulder. "I'm gonna pay, wait for me here."

"I'll pay you back."

"Haru it was just a lemonade," Rin replies tiredly. "And to be honest I think offering you a drink is the least I can do to repair all the damages I have done today."

"Next time."

"What do you mean by next time?"

"Next time we get out, I'll be the one paying. But on one condition."

Rin stops for a second, perplexed, and his bag slides from his shoulder and ends up on his elbow.

"Next time I don't want anything to be fake." Haru says.

His eyes lock with Rin's for a maybe second or two before Haru finds out he can’t hold eye contact anymore. He can only look at the floor between them, and yet he knows just how much Rin's cheeks have turned red just like his own. Rin mumbles something about paying at the counter, his words coming out so mumbled so that Haru can't even understand them. Haru hides his face behind his hands, hoping the embarrassment he feels will go away quickly in time.

He's woken up from his daydream by Rin's voice. "Shall we go?" He says hoarsely, something he usually doesn’t do.

Haru looks up; Rin isn't running away anymore. "Come." He says, offering his hand. Rin looks strong and confident; so much that it makes Haru feel at ease.

Haru watches the hand he's been offered, and takes it doubtlessly.

 

 

 

On the other side of the room hidden behind a wall, Gou and her friend spy on the two new lovebirds. Rin's sister takes her phone from her pocket and sends a message to the mysterious contact 'Lord of Penguins.'

"Mission Complete." She writes, and smiles.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Ofc Nagisa is the mastermind, ALWAYS


End file.
